DEAREST, thy tresses are not threads of gold, Thy eyes of diamonds, nor do I hold Thy lips for rubies, thy fair cheeks to be Fresh roses, or thy teeth of ivory; Thy skin that doth thy dainty body sheathe Not alabaster is, nor dost thou breathe Arabian odours; those the earth brings forth, Compar'd with which would but impair thy worth. Such may be others' mistresses, but mine Holds nothing earthly, but is all divine. Thy tresses are those rays that do arise Not from one sun, but two: such are thy eyes; Thy lips congealed nectar are, and such As, but a deity, there's none dare touch. The perfect crimson that thy cheek doth clothe (But only that it far exceeds them both,) Aurora's blush resembles, or that red That Iris struts in when her mantle's spread. Thy teeth in white do Leda's swan exceed; Thy skin's a heavenly and immortal weed; And when thou breath'st, the winds are ready straight To filch it from thee, and do therefore wait Close at thy lips, and snatching it from thence, Bear it to heaven, where 'tis Jove's frankincense. Fair goddess, since thy feature makes thee one, Yet be not such for these respects alone; But as you are divine in outward view, So be within as fair, as good, as true. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN THE SHADOWS: 2 by DAVID GRAY (1838-1861) THREE KINGS OF ORIENT by JOHN HENRY HOPKINS JR. THE PRINCESS: [BUGLE] SONG by ALFRED TENNYSON HAVE YOU PLANTED A TREE? by HENRY ABBEY A WOMAN'S SONNETS: 4 by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT RISUS DEI by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN THE PRAYERS by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN THE WANDERER: 1. IN ITALY: INDIAN LOVE SONG by EDWARD ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON |